LaTroy Hawkins says it best

In an update on some Yankee farmhands, Chad Jennings lands a great quote from LaTroy Hawkins. When asked about how his Spring Training, Hawkins, who’s thrown eight scoreless innings, said, “Spring don’t mean shit, dude.” While rabid Yankee fans and bloggers alike fixate on spring numbers, we seem to care more than the players. They know it doesn’t count until Monday. We should take a lesson.

wait, Teddy Ballgame is a left handed hitter! surely Melky is the next Micky!

JeffG

I really like Hawkins from all the quotes I’ve read so far from him. He and Shelly tell it straight and its refreshing when you consider all the normal pc bs that usually floats around.

http://slidingintohome.blogspot.com Greg Cohen

Dan, even the Yankees coaching staff is impressed with Gardner, and nobody is saying he’s going to be the next Ted Williams. The best player I think I’ve heard him compared to is Brett Butler.

Personally, I focus on it with players stats if a player is fighting for a spot orplaying very well, like Cano and Giambi.

But Latroy is right, come monday everyone starts fresh.

dan

I was kidding… I think he has a good shot to play significantly this season, and will be productive if given at bats.

mustang

I see that Rasner got hit late in todays game. I also read that the Yanks would ” prefer to keep Igawa as a starting pitcher, even if that means he would begin the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre”.
I don’t understand how the Yanks are going to give a spot to either Rasner or Karstens the way they have pitched. Just to have a long man ? Forget Igawa for mintue think of the other guys who will not get a spot because these two jokers took it. I just don’t get.

blah

I agree completely. I don’t think it makes any sense to take a long reliever just for the sake of having a long reliever, at the expense of sending down better pitchers.

Even if the Yanks have to bring in Karstens or Rasner for long relief, there is a good chance that those guys will get beaten up and the Yankees will be forced to call on other relievers to finish the game.

The only value of carrying Karstens or Rasner is that you don’t waste your other relievers on mop up innings where the game is already out of reach. But I don’t see how you make a roster spot just for that role.

mustang

Maybe they will go after someone like Claudio Vargas who was released by the Brewers. Numbers aren’t too bad.

Manimal

Ask Scott Patterson and Morgan Ensberg. It matters.

Ron

Why can’t Ohlendorf be the long man? After all, he was a starter up until last year. And he’s had a much better spring than Rasner or Karstens.

E-ROC

Claudio Vargas would be a nice back up plan in case injury happens.

I think Ohlendorf has control problems when pitching multiple innings so I guess that’s why he’s seen as an 8th inning candidate.

mustang

I just don’t understand why they just don’t use Igawa. He is a second left-hander and the times i seen him in long relief he hasn’t been that bad. Your going to send Igawa down to AAA his value isn’t going to go up down there. Maybe if your lucky he can go on a run like Small’s did a few years back and you can dump his ass.